Itur ad Astra
by Okkomuri
Summary: Why is the Sol system permit locked from civilian pilots? And how come the Armada had trouble letting a civil ensign get too involved with the Federal Navy? Follow the misadventures of the Commander and Crew of "Umbra Tandem", a Krait Mk.II
1. Chapter 1

Commander Raenys Vallarta, Certified Pilot's Federation Graduate.

Born 3275, System: Ogma

172 cm/62.5 kg

Caucasian, Silver hair (chemically colored), Teal eyes, Female.

Federal Navy (Civil Pilot Division) Rank: Cadet

Active Crew: Reem Quinn, Kurt Black, William Reese.

Ship Commander: Raenys Vallarta.

Vessel: Krait Mk. II, 'Umbra Tandem'. SHIP ID: ELYW05

_Begin Log._

* * *

Crewmember: VALLARTA, Date: 11/27/3205

Finally got the Krait up to specs, apart from a top-rated power plant. There's a 13 or 40 million credit option I've got my eyes on, we'll need to make a full week or so out in the black before I can feel comfortable making that kind of purchase.

Exploration data from those terraformables and water worlds was great, but damn if those painite and low-temp diamond hotspots didn't pay off! Still can't believe I got two systems worth of riches in the same nebular region. Granted, they were each certainly buzzing, but being that far out from civilization? Enough to mean top-dollar for any miners that want to run out and grab all they can, so there's the credits for me rolling in. God, I love critical data payouts!

Crew's been staffed up, granted it's up to nearly a quarter of my profit margin; but they'll be worth it, I can tell.

Black's got this old bloodhound paired with jovial wisdom thing going on, and I love the humor he brings on board. Granted, his cursing scares me when he's out in the fighter, but I can't say I've ever seen or heard of someone going at it by their teeth so much AND reeling it in quite the way he does.

Quinn honestly came off as a bit stuck-up or careless to me when I first met her, and if we hadn't shook hands, I might have passed her up. In the brief time I had talking with her, I realized it was just my quick assessment being off, and she was taking her time in doing the same of me. I asked her a few questions, and yeah, that woman's experience is real. If I were more a fighter than an engineer, I'd want to be like her one day. Definitely a strong member to have on board, and a whiz pilot.

Lastly, Reese has come on from a bit of a… questionable past. He was involved with taking down the shadow cells found on Chi'lin during the Emperor's Dawn scandal, and I've checked his story and the data he gave as evidence for me – it's real. Even had a couple contacts in the Navy cross-check it to be sure. He wasn't a top key player, more of a support member and helped with some necessary, near-critical data hacks, and keeping defense of their own system networks. He was in a couple serious dogfights out there too, but these were mostly fast and hard ambushes that the opponents hadn't seen coming. I could learn a lot from him on the tech side of things, though I also feel the need to be a bit skeptical and cautious around him. He said he got sick a couple years ago, and I can tell the effects of it still linger on him a bit. Reese apparently comes from money too, so that and his past in stealth ops has me question the nature of his illness and involvements, but I'm not going to pry. We've all got our own secrets, after all – just so long as his don't spill onboard or into the crew.

Well, enough of all that. We're at home base in Eravate for now, the crew is making final checks on the reservices done to the Umbra, and then they're off for R&R. I've got a couple things to deal with, some Federal contacts to talk to. Adle's Armada has moved next door, into Cleve Hub, and I can't say that I could be more relieved at that. Coming down to Tiptree had been annoying, and Cleve has so much more in the way of outfitting and other services to offer. They really deserve to be up here.

Originally, the Armada had been very pushy against me and skeptical. But as I worked the rungs, eventually that – and my Krait – seems to have convinced them to take on a much more friendly tone. The few tons of Lavian brandy seem to have helped too, though I wonder as to just who at Tiptree got to enjoy that.

It's funny, because these changes in the Armada's treatment of me didn't happen until they made the move. And I recall a certain woman, shoreside, that seemed to really have a bone settled into her craw against me. Curious how these things move along… but that's also exactly why I need more info.

I've tasked Archer to coordinate with my VI implants runtime, so far he's been taking a backseat and just reviewing all the data, learning, compiling. He doesn't have access to anything but giving me audiovisual notifications, and this is more audio than visual. I'm not ever going to feed an AI directly into my skull, but they can vibrate air and project light as I let them. In the past, I kinda looked up to Jaques – not so much in what happened to him and some aspects of his character, but in terms of his resilience and pushing boundaries of cybernetics. Granted, much of that wasn't what he wanted… regardless, that and my father's industry are what pushed me to get into it in the first place, but now… I don't know. As I'm out there wandering the void, I realize that I wouldn't want to live too long. It sounds dark, but it's more that, in some ways I've become much more aware of the belief in myself that life isn't worth living without people to love and care about, and give that back to you, at your side. Okay, now I'm sounding like brain tree sap.

What I mean is, I don't intend to ever let my own cybernetics go too far. A controlled link into comms networks, audiovisual assistance, and in the future – once I can guarantee the security of it – controlled semi-link into my ships. That should help in combat situations, too.

Eventually, I'll get that access permit to Sol system. I'll see my family there, and get loose ends tied. Restored, maybe.

I don't have any answers, but I know my goals, my directions, and my alternatives. That's really all I need. That, and a good starting crew to build up alongside me. Hopefully, we can all get to where we want to be.


	2. Chapter 2

Crew Member Reem Quinn, Fighter, Maintenance/Repair, Trade, and Communications Specialist.

Born 3278, System: Hyperborea

157 cm/54 kg

Caucasian, Blonde hair, Pale blue eyes, Female.

Criminal Offense History:

\- Station Damages (Collision) – 4,516 CR. Allegiance: Empire. Status: Resolved.

\- Station Damages (Collision) – 1,312 CR. Allegiance: Empire. Status: Resolved.

\- Unauthorized Hardpoint Deployment – 712 CR. Allegiance: Empire. Status: Resolved.

\- Station Dock Trespassing – 317 CR. Allegiance: Empire. Status: Resolved.

\- Illegal Cargo (x12) – 551 CR (each). Allegiance: Empire. Status: Resolved.

\- Stolen Goods (x3) – 394 CR (each). Allegiance: Alliance. Status: Outstanding.

\- Evasion of Justice – 1,712 CR. Allegiance: Alliance. Status: Bounty.

Active Crew: Reem Quinn, Kurt Black, William Reese.

Ship Commander: Raenys Vallarta.

Vessel: Krait Mk. II, 'Umbra Tandem'. SHIP ID: ELYW05

_Begin Log._

* * *

Crewmember: QUINN, Date: 12/03/3205

Okay, so hear thi- wait, why the hell is my beef listed!? …Whatever, Raenys knows it. Just shouldn't… really be out here for _anyone_ to see. Huh, I'll have to talk to her 'bout that.

Anyway.

So we've started running Painite, yeah? Got a great pay-off two days ago, and now suddenly the raiders and pirates won't leave us alone. Funny thing, as Raenys had us take half a day off – and you know, I would _never_ run my mouth on such – and we come back to a newly focused presence of problem-makers. Funny, isn't that?

So I found out, after deciding on a course, that the big fighter is the one to blame. Now, I haven't said anything to the Commander about it yet, nor to our other crewmate. She's already so angered and nearly ready to give up, I don't want her taking it out on the poor guy.

That requires a bit of explanation.

Commander's given us permission to use personal comms, just so long as we're not giving away our immediate location. She has told us the preference is not to use them over expeditions, but as we're not to that point yet, I don't think it was meant as anything more than a topic for future discussion.

So Black, he's on this holo-call, sounds like kids and a woman's voice. Didn't know the man had family, or they could be relatives just the same. I wasn't about to go sleuthing.

The important part is, he made this call just after we got in to the station for off-loading that big haul. So, I have to wonder if the feed was hacked.

Augh, I just hate things like this.

I don't want Raenys to get mad at him, and I know he didn't mean for anything bad to happen. Regardless, we can't stay here and there are a lot of directions Commander is considering between pointing us in.

I know you check the logs every morning. So regardless of whatever happens, please know that there was no harm meant, truly. At least in what little I could determine. And Black… sorry for putting it out here like this, I really struggle to deal with difficulties between crewmembers. I'd be happy to help you set up new firewall and runtime proxies, if you want it.

Um, well… I suppose that's all for now.

Quinn, out…


	3. Chapter 3

Crew Member Kurt Black, Fighter, Maintenance/Repair, and Systems Networking Specialist.

Born 3269, System: Eranin

177 cm/87 kg

African American, White hair, Pale blue eyes, Male.

Federal Navy (Civil Pilot Division) Rank: Chief Petty Officer, Retired.

Alliance (Civilian Pilot Association) Status: Allied.

Active Crew: Reem Quinn, Kurt Black, William Reese.

Ship Commander: Raenys Vallarta.

Vessel: Krait Mk. II, 'Umbra Tandem'. SHIP ID: ELYW05

_Begin Log._

* * *

Crewmember: BLACK, Date: 12/04/3205

Okay, I did get mad.

It was my mistake, but that doesn't mean someone noticing can't go ahead and talk to me. Now, I've seen all kinds of subterfuge and people not knowing better, and this wasn't her playing around – that much I do know. Talked it out, she's a good girl. Just got to get over those nerves.

Commander didn't chew on me, much. Haha, oh, I could see her crawling in her skin!

But, it's all right now.

We're pointed towards Alliance space now, wondering if I'll get a chance to pop by old friends. Spent a good number of days in those stations, some not even listed or around anymore.

Commander didn't say just what we're doing, guess she's still figuring that out. Imperial space is beyond this, and I know she was interested in running some of them around sometime soon. I got to say, she sure seems a head over water. Don't know what that's all about, don't want to know.

Just better not be a thing that comes back to bite us.

Had a few good runs on the pirates, mostly I was out there with Reem back at the helm, assisting that wiry guy on the turrets. Now there's a man who's seen things I don't want to have a thing to do with. Haven't so much as spoken more than three words to each other, and it's been, what, uh… about… ten, eleven days now? I've never seen a more secretive person.

All these shy people!

Glad Raenys isn't like that. She's young, got a good solid head on her shoulders. Strong stature, focused. Easy to get along with.

Well, I better get back to it. Repairs on cannon mountings aren't going to take care of themselves.


End file.
